If Not for the Stubbornness of Fate
by Ace.x.Luffy.x.Zoro
Summary: An adventurous traveler wanders the great forests of the hillcountry, where fate has tied him to a certain dragon and dragon-slayer.
1. Fate and her Plans

**If Not for the Stubbornness of Fate... **

**t**he two men certainly would not have met each other the way they did,

**a**nd they both knew it.

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Chapter 1: Fate and her Plans

**I**t all started one fine fall day, the sun high up in the sky as it poured down its luminous beams of golden-light upon the colored leaves, falling gracefully through the air like a sky-ballet. The trees seemed to be changing their attire, changing from a green or yellow to bright, fiery oranges and reds. The animals noticed this change and made way for their plant-friends, gathering their food for another cold, snowy winter.

The people, however, seemed to calm down their actions, toiling and harvesting their crops from the fields and plucking apples from their acres worth of orchards, placing the delicate red fruits in their wicker baskets, preparing to bring them back to the royal castle grounds to be half-stored and half-dispersed to the loyal villagers that deserved the extra nutrition.

The pathways from village A to village B slowly filled up with merchants and travelers, yearning to barter their goods to the citizens in exchange for riches and other stuffs.

And last but certainly not forgotten was a single man, walking through the deserted forests for adventure, only a small leather pack at his hip carrying whatever he thought he needed. Apparently what he thought he needed was not much, but no matter, that is not the focus point.

What was so intriguing about this man was that not only was he walking the sunset colored forests by himself, that he carried only a small satchel of goods, or had no idea where he was going to end up was the fact that he accepted whatever fate threw his way, no matter the level of difficulty. He may not be completely pleased that fate hit him in the head like a rock, but he accepted it.

**U**pon wandering into a peaceful clearing, the man set down his bag and layed down in the tall grass, letting the feeling of the warm sunlight beat upon his features, his exposed arms and lower legs grateful for the relaxing tan. The calm wind brushed his black hair off his freckled face, and opened his long-lashed eyelids to marvel at the beauty of the forest he traveled in.

Sitting up with a happy sigh, the traveler opened his satchel and withdrew a large apple, native to the country, and bit into it, muching away as he looked around him at the tall trees swaying in the wind, and the animals going about their own business, completely oblivious to their single onlooker.

But not only were the animals the oblivious ones.

The traveler had no faint idea of what lay just beyond the reach of human hearing and sight, and maybe it's best that he didn't know, for it might have gone against fate itself.

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~ + WOOT this is a requested story from **Yume Hime16 **! Hope you, and all you other readers, enjoyed the short first chapter of what will most likely be a 2 or 3 chapter short story~ :D I'll have the next chapter up soon!

**tell me what you thought about it ;) XD** + ~


	2. A New Route

**Now another man exploring the forests for a different reason comes into play...**

**h**e rode a marvelous steed, and never turned a blind eye on the wood that surrounded him..

**a**s was his job.

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Chapter 2: A New Route

**A** lone horseman rode through the trees at a calm pace, staying every attentive to every sound and appearance within sight of his eyes. A glittering blue sword hung on his leather belt, and his matching blue shield hung from his left arm.

Every few days he might have found a few boys playing in the forest, only to scold them to go back to their mothers before they met their deaths, but who is he to try and change their fate, if it so happened to be meeting their death amongst the animals and trees? There was but one reason: it was his job.

A fine job indeed in his opinion, to which made others both respect and avoid him, not that he cared. He would receive his payment in occasional housing and meals from the gracious and willing villagers who knew their place. They feared both him and his commander, not that his 'commander' could really do any damage at his ripe old age, but his reputation for never forgotten for both his authority and power.

Yawning as his horse whinnied, the man took a whistle made of rolled tin out of his leather saddle bag and blew an angelic tune into it, making the breeze seem much more ominous as his wind-like notes floated throughout the leaves and branches. His fair-hair danced in the wind as the animals all perked their ears to listen, enchanted by the sound.

Just as the last notes of his whistle died out, leaving a peacefully eerie silence, the horseman stopped his horse upon coming to a sun-lit clearing which was filled with tall grasses and wildflowers, and an unusual something. Peeking through the low red branches of the trees, the horseman spotted him, a handsome youth spread wide-eagle in the grasses who appeared to be sleeping. The horseman wasn't quite sure as to how one could manage to fall asleep like he did, but he paid it no heed.

About to continue along his journey, the horseman stopped abruptly as the sleeping traveler suddenly awoke with a start, sitting up quickly in shock. Nearly falling out of his saddle, the horseman righted himself and calmed his horse, stopping to observe the then awake traveler.

"Whoa to you sir, what might you be doing out in the middle of this vast expanse of forest?" the horseman asked while the black-haired traveler stared at the sword and shield at his side,"speak traveler, or can you not?"

"What brings a knight to these mighty woods?" the explorer mumbled to himself, standing up in the golden sunlight to better look at his new acquaintance, who was mystified by the man he had stumbled upon. The lone man stood in the clearing, frozen in time as the wind rustled his hair and the sun danced on his black hair and freckles. The 'knight' sat back on his horse, shrouded in shadows except for his gleaming sword and shield, a powerful aura surrounding him as his steed whinnied and bucked his head.

Just as the horseman opened his mouth to speak once more, his eyebrows knitted in confusion, a calamitous crackling and cracking of splintering wood sounded somewhere in the forest nearby, birds squawking as they were jostled out of their homes.

While the horseman merely yawned in a rather blasé manner, the adventurer turned his head quickly toward the sound, aghast at the thought of what could have made such a ruckus. Then the horseman spoke up again.

"Marco."

"P-Pardon me?"

"Marco the Dragonslayer, at your service."

Putting two and two together, the traveler found the answer of an upcoming dragon attack, not the usual answer of four.

"Go and hide in the wood from whence you came, and keep out of trees, mind you," the dragonslayer commanded, throwing a hand back at the trees behind him to show exactly where to hide. The 'victim' silently took in the information and ran off with his satchel, fearing for both their lives. As he ran past, the black-haired traveler finally got a good glimpse of his hero, a tawny-haired, relaxed, blue-eyed man who looked about ready to fall off his horse and sleep.. yes, a very reliable source of protection from mountain-sized, scaled beasts.

Crouching behind a tree, at first the traveler listened as more trees came toppling helplessly down to the forest floor, slightly flaming as well. Peering around the tree in curiosity, he watched Marco proceed out into the clearing, back to him, and on foot. His grey-and black speckled steed stood right on the fringe of the clearing, obediently staying without any sort of harness.

The crushing and splintering grew louder and louder till Marco saw the beast above the tree-tops, and within a few more trees, the behemoth was upon him.

As most dragons are, this dragon was of massive scale and bulk, his legs and back bursting with muscle. The dragon had a narrow and long face, murderous fang-like teeth the length of a man's leg pointing out of his non-existent lips. Sail-like wings tucked against his back unfurled with ferocity, blocking the sun from the view of the Earth. His skin shone in the light with scales the color of blood, his venomous eyes glowing gold like the sun above his head. The traveler was sure that if the dragon stood on hind legs, he would certainly be able to snatch the sun in its beastly jaws and crush it as if it were a bale of hay.

Marco leaned on his sword, watching the dragon as he brandished his black talons on a nearby tree, and his tail the thickness of three tree trunks swung back and forth around his back, a glowing black blade stuck in between two scales nearly half way up his tail. A bad omen, indeed, for a swordsman already lost his precious blade to this beast before.

Staring the best he could at the beast's eyes in a near trance, the traveler returned his eyes back to Marco, who had made no move but put his hand on his hip. Then, a bubble of air rushed up the dragon's throat, and then burst inside his mouth, making a foul black smoke puff out of his jaws, as if maybe he backfired. The dragon shook his head with eyes clenched shut in embarrassment almost as Marco dared laugh at the animals blunder.

'_In what position doth thou presume thou holdeth, Marco the 'Dragonslayer'? A god?' _

The dragon regained his will and snarled, flames curling around his teeth as he whipped his tail down in anger, making Marco stop his laughing and replaced it with a question, as if the dragon could respond.

"Well, do you wish to smite me or be smited, dear dragon?" Marco asked, raising his free hand into the air to gesture as he spoke. The dragon growled and hunched down, and that is when Marco made his one and only move.

The dragonslayer took his sword from his hip, a chain attached to the end of it clinked as it was brought to life, and he held the end of the sword in his right hand, and the chain's end in his right and he began a slow rotation on one foot. The dragon stopped to watch in slight amusement.

After picking up speed in his spinning, he released his sword from his right hand, the chain clanking as it took on it's new companion as it spun round and round in the air as if orbiting Marco. Smirking, Marco forced his weight backwards to balance the weight of his blade which glittered and sparkled blue in the sunlight, dazzling all who watched.

Both orbiting things soon turned to a blur, and dragon hiccupped in realization as to what was to happen and crouched, opening his jaws to spew a whirlwind of fire towards the swordsman who abruptly stopped in mid-spin and let the chain and blade go flying into the dragon's open mouth, cracking through the roof of his mouth and into his brain. The dragon staggered as his eyes rolled back, and his body gave out and crumpled to the ground, bringing along with him a few more trees and a thud that could have been mistaken for an earthquake.

The traveler's eyes went wide in amazement, watching Marco calmly whistle as he walked over to the dragon and pulled out the black blade from it's tail. Looking over the sword briefly, Marco nodded in satisfaction and then secured it onto his belt, and then ventured to the dragon's mouth. Pushing apart the heavy top jaw, Marco reached in and pulled his blood and ash covered blade & chain out as well, putting it back on his belt in it's rightful place.

Running to Marco as he let the dragon's mouth close again with a clink of teeth, the traveler spouted his thanks and amazement and compliments and everything into one breath, making him very nearly faint afterwards. Marco only blinked as he listened, cracking a lazy smile as he held the other's shoulder to keep him from falling.

Recovering himself, the wanderer pulled back and apologized profusely, gnawing away at Marco's patience which led him to punch the other in the arm to shut him up.

"It is my unofficial job, and I'd say I do a pretty good job at it, mister...?"

"Portgas. D. Ace, Wandering Ace."

"Well, your title fits you as you did appear to wander into a very seldom-trod part of Chickory, but mayhaps you gain yourself some muscle and a weapon before you decide to wander back through these dragon-infested lands, Ace," Marco suggested, chuckling a bit at the end as he startled Ace with a clap to his shoulder. Ace only blushed and looked away, embarrassed that his strength wasn't sufficient enough, but then turned his face back up to his acquaintance as he felt metal against his arm; it was the silver hilt of the newly-found black blade that had resided in the dragon's tail, that Marco held up to Ace's arm to get his attention. Ace looked at the blade and then back at Marco as he turned it to glint in the sunlight, and swished it a few times for his friend to see before holding the blade of it right above Ace's shoulder.

"What are you-?!"

"I knight thee Ace the Dragonslayer, under Newgate the Brave, and a right-hand man of Marco the Dragonslayer," Marco stated, lifting his blade to rest upon the other shoulder as well while Ace stared up at Marco in shock.

"Alright, now take it, won't you?" Marco questioned, shoving the black sword into Ace's arms who fumbled it until he held it right, and his eyes threatened to bulge out of their sockets.

"Y-Y-You are... giving me this blade?!" Ace croaked, looking down the magnificence that he was holding.

"It's owner was most likely consumed by Backfire over there, so sure, why not?"

Ace stared up at Marco in utter amazement, and didn't let go of Marco's gaze either until the sound of hooves and booming voices sounded in the forest, and several horsemen appeared next to Marco's steed and called out to Marco.

"St. Christopher, Marco! Where have you been?" one called out, a slight tone of annoyance detectable in his voice while the man next to him spoke up as well.

"Who's that there you talk to?"

"Have you actually gone and picked up a partner? Though, I was not aware that you swung that way.."

None of these other men even took notice of the monstrosity of a dragon at the other end of the clearing which still looked frightening in death.

"Shut up, you fools!" Marco retorted, his cheeks bright red at the thought of being in a relationship with Ace, who stood staring then at Marco's apparent friends, amazed at how casual they talked and joked even though they all looked about ready to burst out of their cloaks with muscle.

"Don't tell me... have you actually gone and let in someone new to our band?" a foreign-looking man questioned, pushing his horse to the front of their pack, riling up the other beasts.

"I hath indeed inducted Sir Portgas D. Ace the dragonslayer into our guild of fire-breather-persecution," Marco replied as he put a hand, for the millionth time on Ace's shoulder as if to reassure him, whereas it more frightened the former-wanderer even more.

"Oh, such a grand title," a man with chestnut-colored hair announced, then making his way into the clearing with his black horse. The man rode closer and then hoped off his steed, walking up next to Ace and Marco while the others looked on with curiosity.

"I would like to welcome you to our band of sometimes-nonsense and sometimes-dragonslaying, Sir Portgas D. Ace the dragonslayer. May I ask what title you held before Marco here invited you?" the man inquired, leaning upon Marco's shoulder as he waited for his reply from a still shaken-up Ace.

"Wandering Ace," Marco said in place of Ace, smirking to his friend,"Thatch, be nice, now.."

"A wanderer, eh? Oh, how rich to have a wanderer amongst us!" the man named Thatch teased, clapping his hands once as if delighted while the others laughed and smirked. Ace only blushed and grew flustered.

"I'll have you know the life of a wanderer is truly exciting and peaceful, making my journey from a country you have most likely never heard of!" Ace bellowed, pointing a finger in the two's faces, looking quite embarrassed and upset. Marco smirked while Thatch bit his lip before laughing so hard he hunched over clutching his gut, leaving Ace to blush and sulk away, finding a way to carry his new blade on his own belt.

"Maybe I should just wander my way back there.. after all, it's filled with much more beautiful surroundings than these.." Ace grumbled, crossing his arms after readjusting the satchel on his shoulder. Thatch straightened up and took Ace by surprise, taking him into a sudden head-lock whilst laughing once more.

"Don't even think upon returning now! Mayhaps after you really make a noble name for yourself we'll allow it, but for now you are stuck with us!" Thatch exclaimed, ignoring all mumbles and groans from Ace who was turning purple in the face.

"Now now, look, you're killing him already," Marco pointed out, pinching Thatch's arm to retrieve Ace from his near-murderer. Ace gasped for air, leaning back against Marco unknowingly as he regained strength and thought-processing once more. Marco smirked and put his arm around Ace, wheeling him back to his horse as Thatch followed close behind with arms crossed approvingly.

"Welcome to the family," Marco said happily as he showed off Ace to the rest of his 'family', who smirked and nodded in affirmation of Ace's arrival.

"Do I get my own horse.." Ace groaned grumpily, tired of being embarrassed so many times after not seeing another man in days. The others held their laughter..

"You're riding with me until you deserve one," Marco replied as he hopped up into his saddle, patting in front of him for Ace to get on.

The wind blew through their hair and made the painted leaves rustle, bringing signs of new hope and happiness. While this is said, Ace was not so hopeful and/or happy as he climbed up into the saddle, to soon feel most of the front side of Marco pressing against his back.

"Get ready because after this, you won't be the same person, 'Wandering Ace'," Marco whispered to Ace as he slipped his hands under Ace's arms to grab the reigns, turning his grey steed to follow after the rest of his family. Ace blushed red, and was happy at least to know he was protected and was turned away from Marco's vision. No man wanted to be seen blushing in a situation like that, especially not Portgas D. Ace the Dragonslayer under Newgate the Brave, right-hand man to Marco the Dragonslayer.

**T**he animals, the trees, the grassy pathways and the wind all sang their songs for Ace, saying their 'good-byes' and bidding him to return into the wide and inviting arms of Nature, and luckily for everyone and everything, Fate had Ace's life all planned out in her magnificent ways...

** p**romising good fortune to him who accepts his fate.


End file.
